Jiang Meiying lay there; glancing up at the ceiling with a blank expression while her husband slept soundlessly beside her.
It was 3:00am.
A new day.
Another life span deducted from her life.
She checked her life span on her status.
{Life span: 6 days left}
How she wished there was a way she could advance her life span to be like that of a normal human and not worry about dying less than a week If she doesn't complete a quest.
Suddenly a notification popped up before her.
{Daily quest ready. Purchase?}
Without hesitation she did and watched her EXP drop to 305.
Her previous EXP was 505 after she had purchased the skin detoxing oil and agility pill.
Ding! Ding!
{Quest successfully purchased. Accept/Reject}
She rolled her eyes and tapped on Accept.
{New Quest!}
{Quest: Earn 500$ today}
Her eyes narrowed in irritation. How was she supposed to earn such a huge amount of money today! She had a lesson to conduct and had to go shopping for the food condiments for the caterer service she was going to render at the party.
{Rewards: 25 EXP, +2 days lifespan}
She sighed outloud as she closed down her interface. If she didn't accomplish this quest, she logically calculated that she won't be alive to even complete another quest.
How was she going to earn 500$ then.
Zhang Hien groggily opened his eyes on hearing her sigh. She gasped when she saw something glint in the dark. Looking to her side, her profile resting against the bed, she turned to see metallic blue eyes staring intensely at her in the dark.
He felt very sleepy but he wasn't too submerged into unconsciousness to know something was worrying her.
"What's wrong?" He sleepily asked.
She turned away from him.
"Oh it's nothing. I'm fine. Get some sleep before the sun comes up." She said everything in one breath, clearing her throat uncomfortably.
She still wasn't used to being showed concern or affection. She had been a ruthless scientist and spy back in her world and didn't have time for anything concerning emotions or things of the flesh.
Seeing the worried look in his deep sleepy eyes ignited something uncomfortable in her chest. Her throat felt dry at once and she subconsciously held the sides of the sheets she lay on as she tried to sleep off.
Zhang Hien's eyes glanced down to see the way she had held the sheets in her tightly squeezed fist and raised his eyes to look back up at her hair- which was all he could see since she didn't want to look at him.
What was she worried about!?
He raised his palm, slowly advancing it towards her to touch her but his hand froze mid-air as he contemplated on whether it was a good idea.
Withdrawing it, he turned away and reluctantly closed his eyes to sleep.
By 7:00am, Zhang Hien was seated at one corner of the room after a shower, watching uncomfortably as two maids cleaned the room and made the bed while two others brought in breakfast.
Jiang Meiying was in the kitchen as usual making the food and had sent them up to bring him breakfast while she and one of the maids planned out the list of things she was going to need for cooking and how much it was going to cost.
Zhang Hien wasn't used to people serving him like this so he just sat at one corner and tried to read- without interfering.
"All done Young Master," One said and he reluctantly looked up to see the room's been well arranged and organized and on the bedside table was his breakfast. "Do you need anything else?"
The earnest looks they gave him scared him to bits so he meekly opened his mouth, ready to tell them off when he suddenly said instead,
"Can you... call in my wife?"
"Okay. Anything else?"
"T- That's all. Thank you." He replied, astonished.
Just what did Jiang Meiying do to make everyone behave this way?!
"Young Miss." Jiang Meiying paused In the act of writing something down and glanced up with her sharp narrowed eyes.
"Mm. What is it?"
"Young Master Zhang requests your prescence upstairs."
Jiang Meiying glanced down at what she was writing and nodded her head at them to continue whatever they wanted to do before going upstairs to serve her husband.
After two minutes, she handed the list over to the maid.
"How much will everything cost?" She asked the maid who had the calculator between the two.
After a series of tapping and knotted brows, she finally told her the amount.
The amount was much- she knew that. But she was willing to spend even more because she was sure her payment at the end would cover up for everything she's spent.
The thought of earning 500$ crossed her mind and her eyes turned cold for a moment as she thought about it.
She shook the thought off, confident that she'd find a way to earn such an amount of money even if she termed it impossible herself.
Turning to the maid, she said,
"I'll be down in a moment. We'll leave after."
The maid nodded and she left to her room, wondering what Zhang Hien wanted to see her about. She had to go shopping for the food items and condiments before she conducts her lesson.
When she arrived, she noticed Zhang Hien seated next to the bedside table, his food untouched.
"Zhang Hien. Why haven't you eaten? Don't you like it?"
He glanced up at her.
"I haven't eaten anything yet."
"Why? You wouldn't like it if it gets cold."
"I was waiting for you."
Her lips fell apart at his words
"What do ..."
"Have you eaten?"
"No but... "
"You promised you wouldn't miss breakfast," He tried to be stern but an amused glint flashed in her eyes at his audacity as he patted the bed. "Come... let's eat."
She glanced at the time and shrugged. It wouldn't hurt to spend five minutes eating. Besides, it was pointless arguing with him.
As they ate, the room turned silent, only the sound of cultlery against the plate.
From the corner of her eyes, she could see Zhang Hien stealing glances at her and she frowned.
Why was he looking at her?
Was he worried she'd get fatter by eating this much?
Did he want to tell her to stop eating?
She suddenly lost her appetite as her insecurities washed over her body like a wave flowing down a river bank. Just as she was about to drop her cultlery, he leaned over with a napkin and wiped her mouth before pulling away, quickly.
Jiang Meiying was left stunned and stared at him wide eyed. He blushed profusely as he stuttered,
"You had... something there."
"Oh." Was all she said, coyly hiding a strand of hair behind her ear as she confronted herself for thinking Zhang Hien would be thinking about her like that. He wasn't like his brother or her family at all!
"Are you Okay?"
She turned to him.
"Huh?"
He sucked his lips In and jutted his chin to the half finished food on the tray.
"Don't you want some more?"
"No. I'm... I'm full," She got up, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "I have to go. I'll see you later, okay?"
She didn't wait for a reaction from him and went into the bathroom. Turning to her reflection, she grimaced at the sight of the hideous scar on her face and quickly got to work, applying the detoxing oil on her forehead.
The oil didn't work immediately and she could evidently see that, since the scar was slowly healing. The process was so slow that no normal person could see it. At the end of the day, it would have healed off completely.
She checked her Manna percentage.
{Manna percentage: 56%}
Since she had gotten some rest, it had boosted up but she needed to ensure it reached a 100 before she was able to start off the healing process. She didn't want to make the same mistake she had made the last time.